Zhou Yuqing, Lindström Björn, Soutschek Alexander, Kang Pyungwon, Tobler Philippe N, Hein Grit
Translational Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg 97080, Germany
Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, The Netherlands.
J Neurosci. 2022 Sep 7;42(36):6931-6945. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0027-22.2022.
Humans form impressions toward individuals of their own social groups (ingroup members) and of different social groups (outgroup members). Outgroup-focused theories predict that intergroup impressions are mainly shaped by experiences with outgroup individuals, while ingroup-focused theories predict that ingroup experiences play a dominant role. Here we test predictions from these two psychological theories by estimating how intergroup impressions are dynamically shaped when people learn from both ingroup and outgroup experiences. While undergoing fMRI, male participants had identical experiences with different ingroup or outgroup members and rated their social closeness and impressions toward the ingroup and the outgroup. Behavioral results showed an initial ingroup bias in impression ratings which was significantly reduced over the course of learning, with larger effects in individuals with stronger ingroup identification. Computational learning models revealed that these changes in intergroup impressions were predicted by the weight given to ingroup prediction errors. Neurally, the individual weight for ingroup prediction errors was related to the coupling between the left inferior parietal lobule and the left anterior insula, which, in turn, predicted learning-related changes in intergroup impressions. Our findings provide computational and neural evidence for ingroup-focused theories, highlighting the importance of ingroup experiences in shaping social impressions in intergroup settings. Living in multicultural societies, humans interact with individuals of their own social groups (ingroup members) and of different social groups (outgroup members). However, little is known about how people learn from the mixture of ingroup and outgroup interactions, the most natural experiences in current societies. Here, participants had identical, intermixed experiences with different ingroup and outgroup individuals and rated their closeness and impressions toward the ingroup and the outgroup. Combining computational models and fMRI, we find that the weight given to ingroup experiences (ingroup prediction errors) is the main source of intergroup impression change, captured by changes in connectivity between the parietal lobe and insula. These findings highlight the importance of ingroup experiences in shaping intergroup impressions in complex social environments.
人类会对自己所属社会群体的个体（内群体成员）以及不同社会群体的个体（外群体成员）形成印象。以外群体为重点的理论预测，群体间印象主要由与外群体个体的经历塑造，而以内群体为重点的理论预测，内群体经历起主导作用。在此，我们通过估计当人们从内群体和外群体经历中学习时群体间印象是如何动态形成的，来检验这两种心理学理论的预测。在进行功能磁共振成像（fMRI）时，男性参与者与不同的内群体或外群体成员有相同的经历，并对他们与内群体和外群体的社会亲密度及印象进行评分。行为结果显示，在印象评分中最初存在内群体偏向，但在学习过程中这种偏向显著降低，在内群体认同感较强的个体中影响更大。计算学习模型表明，群体间印象的这些变化是由赋予内群体预测误差的权重预测的。在神经层面，内群体预测误差的个体权重与左下顶叶小叶和左前脑岛之间的耦合有关，而这又反过来预测了群体间印象中与学习相关的变化。我们的研究结果为以内群体为重点的理论提供了计算和神经方面的证据，突出了内群体经历在群体间环境中塑造社会印象的重要性。生活在多元文化社会中，人类会与自己所属社会群体的个体（内群体成员）以及不同社会群体的个体（外群体成员）进行互动。然而，对于人们如何从内群体和外群体互动的混合中学习，即当前社会中最自然的经历，我们却知之甚少。在这里，参与者与不同的内群体和外群体个体有相同的、混合的经历，并对他们与内群体和外群体的亲密度及印象进行评分。结合计算模型和功能磁共振成像，我们发现赋予内群体经历（内群体预测误差）的权重是群体间印象变化的主要来源，这通过顶叶和脑岛之间连接性的变化得以体现。这些发现突出了内群体经历在复杂社会环境中塑造群体间印象的重要性。
